Propeller for vessels



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shetl.

WQL. BOVYER.

PROPELLER FOR VESSELS. No. 342,572. Patented May 25,1886.

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(No Model.)

W. L. BOVYEB.. PROPELLER FOR VESfiELS.

N0'..342,'572. Patented May'25, 1886.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

w; L. BO'VYER.

PROPELLER FOR VESSBLS.

No. 342,572. Patented May 25, 1886.

WITH E55 E51 InUEnfur:

NITED STATES WILLIAM L.

' ATE-NT OFFICE.

PROPELLER FOR VESSELS.

ESPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 342,572, dated May25,1886. Application filed February 11, 1886. Serial No. 191,529. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM L. BovYER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco, in the State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPropellers for Vessels; and 1 do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of my invention, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.-v

My invention relates to improvements in screw-propellers for vessels;and it consists in the production of a propelling device of the form andupon the principle of construction hereinafter explained, and alsoin animproved form of blade for propellers, as set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by figures and letters, Figures 1and 2 are perspective views of a propeller with a single continuousspiral blade and an open center constructed according to my saidinvention. In Fig. 2 the shaft is turned one-half a revolution and theblade is brought into a position diametrically opposite to that shown inFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the form of propeller shown inFigs. 1 and 2, and Fig. 4 is an end view taken from the left-hand sideof Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 are cross-sections of two forms of 1 blade,onepresenting a plane and the other a curved face and both having apitch or inclination backward of the acting surface with respect to theline of the shaft. Fig. 7, Sheet 2, illustrates a form of the propellerin which the face of the blade is set perpendicular to the line of theshaft.

A represents the outer end portion of a propeller-shaft. Its bearingsandsupports and the connection with an engine or motive power are notshow-n, as they have no particular re lation to the invention and arenot necessary either in the drawings or the description to a clearunderstanding of the nature of my invention or the mode of applying andcarrying it out.

13 is the propeller blade or surface acting against the body of water.It is formed of a continuous spiral blade of uniform pitch held byradial arms 0 in position around and equally distant from the shaft insuch manner that the center is open all round the shaft and for the fulllength of the spiral. It is considered sufficient for all practicalpurposes to make but one revolution of the spiral around the shaft andto have the fore and aft ends pass or meet on the same longitudinalline.

The supporting-arms C may be flat or of any suitable form and characterof construction adapted to hold the blade firmly in position clear ofthe shaft. cured to the shaft also in a suitable manner.

Along the inner edge of the blade or that edge which is next to theshaft when the blade is set I form aflange or projecting surface, 13*,either by turning up the edge portion of the blade and fixing it in suchposition that it extends from the face of the blade backward at anangle, or by securing along the edge of the blade an angle-plate, 13*,Figs. 1 and 2. This projecting surface stands parallel with the line ofthe shaft and either at a right an gle or an acute angle to the face B,according as this face of the blade is set perpendicular to or is fixedat an inclination with respect to the line of the shaft. In either casethe lower or inner edge of the spiral blade is turned backward at anangle with the face 13 of the blade and parallel with the axis of theimaginary cylinder around which the blade is wound.

In that form of the propeller-blades composed of these two angular faceswhich is shown in Fig. 7 of Sheet 2 the principal face B is setperpendicular to the axis; but in the other views the constructionrepresented has the outer edge of the blades pitched rearward, and theprincipal surface is therefore inclined toward the axis. The result ofthis mode of setting the blade is to produce a continuous The arms willhe seplane surface without the warp or twist that is found in the formwhere the blade is set perpendicular to the axis. The same result willbe obtained by makingthe blade B of a curved or concave plate, asillustrated in Fig;

6. All these forms are designed to secure effective hold upon the bodyof water and pre vent dispersion, the turned or rearwardly-projectinginner edge acting to hold the water against lateral displacement underthe pressure exerted by the principal face, and the inclination of thisface tending to confine the water along the outer edge and cause it tobe driven directly aft, thereby obtaining the greatest possible exertionof the spiral surface against the bodyof water around it.

IOC

It should be observed that the particular angle for the blade employedin this propeller shown in the several views of Sheet 1 may be variedwithout departing from the essential features of my invention, as I donot limit myself to such degree of inclination from the perpendicular,although I consider it to be the best for general purposes; neither do Ilimit myself to the particular width of angular face or projection 13*on the edge of the blade. I have made this surface, however, about equalto the distance between the inner and outer edge of the blade B,projected upon the axis.

Such projection is the distance from m to 3 on the line a: w, Figs. 5and 6.

The blade B should be of the character of construction best adapted togive lightness and stiffness with requisite strength. It may what Iclaim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A propeller for vessels, consisting of a spiral blade fixed around ashaft, as A, by supports that leave the center open, and having theinner edge next the shaft turned backward to stand at angle with theacting surface of the blade, substantially as herein described.

2. In a propeller for vessels, a blade having its acting face formed oftwo surfaces standing at a right angle or less than a right angle toeach other, and having one surface substantially parallel with the lineof the propellershaft and the other surface extending outwardperpendicular to or at an angle with such parallel surface,substantially as described.

3. A propeller for vessels, having a spiral blade, as B, with aprojecting flange or surface, as 13*, on the inner edge and fixed to thepropeller shaft by arms, as O, the principal face of the blade beinginclined to the axis and the face 13* standing substantially parallelwith it.

WILLIAM L. BOVYER.

\Vitnesses:

JAMES L. KING, EDWARD S. OSBORN.

